BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Despite the resourcefulness and creativity that characterizes American higher education, the failure of many colleges to rethink how they will continue to support the educational enterprise over the long-term keeps most administrators awake at night. But there is some good news out there. Surprisingly, much of it centers on the careers…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL In a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “Baby Boomers Looking for Reinvention Try College — Again,” Douglas Belkin notes that “adult students have been a growing force at universities for more than a decade – mostly blue-collar workers or those pursuing advanced degrees focused on getting new skills.” Looking at…
BY HANK REICHMAN January 2018 marks thirty years since the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, January 31, the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) will sponsor the first Hazelwood Day of Action — “a day to raise awareness about the Hazelwood decision, publicize its destructive legacy for student…
BY HANK REICHMAN Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos delivered a commencement speech at the University of Baltimore yesterday, sparking protests from students, faculty, and members of the community. According to the Baltimore Sun, “Several dozen graduates slowly rose in protest as she spoke. First, two women in the front row — including one whose graduation…
BY HANK REICHMAN Temple University Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab’s book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, is one of the most important books on higher education to appear in recent years. The book demonstrates, through both comprehensive data and often heart-wrenching personal stories, how U.S. students have been…
BY JOHN K. WILSON Roderick A. Ferguson is faculty in the Department of African American Studies and the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the co-director of the Racialized Body research cluster at UIC. In 2018-19, he will serve as president of the American Studies Association. AcademeBlog…
BY AMY HAGOPIAN AND EVA CHERNIAVSKY Recent news reports confirm what we’ve suspected: hate crimes in the U.S. are up. (Hate crimes are those crimes that target people based on their race, religion, sexuality, disability, or national origin.) Last July, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported more than 940 potential bias incidents targeting Muslims just during…
BY HANK REICHMAN The University of Wisconsin-Superior announced this week that it will suspend 25 programs, including 9 majors, 15 minors and one graduate program, according to reports by the Duluth News-Tribune and Wisconsin Public Radio. Among the majors affected are sociology, theater, journalism and political science. The university has now suspended 40 programs since…
BY AARON R. HANLON Aaron Hanlon is Assistant Professor of English at Colby College. He writes regularly on issues related to free speech on campus, including recently in the New York Times. The notion that college student protesters are reacting to “offensive” speech has held outsized influence in national debates about free speech and student…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH In an article for University Business magazine, Jodi Helmer addresses the question “Is early college working?” She provides the following broad statistics: In 2002, 1.2 million students were earning college credits while still in high school. A decade later, the number of those participating in dual enrollment courses had almost doubled,…